Battle for Issa's gavel heats up

Everyone watching the behind-the-scenes battle for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee gavel has one question in mind: Who does John Boehner want?

Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who is trying to leapfrog five more-senior members, and Ohio Rep. Mike Turner, who is No. 3 in seniority, have spent months furiously lobbying the members of the House Republican Steering Committee, which will meet next week to consider their cases.

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But all the lobbying may not matter. Boehner has five votes, his leadership team will follow him and vote in a bloc and the speaker has sway over most of the remaining votes, many of whom are his allies. He has, thus far, refused to weigh in even privately with his leadership team or closest allies. His silence is making this contest the most intense battle for power during this otherwise tame lame-duck session of Congress.

The race was one to watch, even before it intensified in recent days.

Many Republicans hoped a new chairman would recalibrate the committee after it had been in the hands of Darrell Issa, a bombastic Californian who garnered a slew of negative headlines for his party during his chairmanship.

Boehner’s decision on whom he supports as chairman has wide-ranging implications for his own future, and the future of his party on Capitol Hill. If he taps an unpopular Republican for the chairmanship, his party could risk further embarrassment in the last two years of the Obama administration. The GOP desperately wants to show it can govern and is trying to shed what some believe has been a too-intense focus on embarrassing the White House.

There’s also risk for Boehner’s power in Washington. If he chooses Turner, his fellow Ohioan, over Chaffetz and Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan — who is also seeking the position — he could anger the right wing ahead of his January floor election as speaker. His allies are keenly aware of that risk.

“The next chairman will be selected by the Steering Committee at the appropriate time,” said Michael Steel, Boehner’s spokesman.

As Boehner walked onto the House floor Wednesday night, he let out a loud laugh when a POLITICO reporter asked him who would be the next Oversight and Government Reform chairman.

Republican leadership insiders are watching the race closely and think Chaffetz has a slight edge over Turner, in part because he is well liked and has had a high-profile role in oversight.

Turner, meanwhile, is from Boehner’s backyard and has been in D.C. for six years longer than Chaffetz. Jordan has The Wall Street Journal’s endorsement, but Chaffetz has the support of the conservative National Review. Issa, who has had a somewhat controversial tenure with the gavel, has signaled support for the long-shot Jordan.

“He appreciates Jordan because it seems Jordan would continue to press on the harder issues,” an Issa aide said, noting that Chaffetz and Turner are saying they want to take the panel in a new direction.

Asked about the race Wednesday evening, Issa said it’s a decision for the Steering Committee.

Chaffetz’s and Turner’s pitches, which the lawmakers have been delivering throughout the fall, have one common thread: distancing themselves from Issa.

Chaffetz, who detailed his pitch to POLITICO, has been saying he’s been in the middle of the House GOP’s efforts to hold President Barack Obama accountable, is a low-risk and effective spokesman for the party on television and will break cleanly with Issa on a number of key issues.

Turner is privately telling members of the powerful panel that chooses chairmen that the Oversight Committee needs to buckle down, and that Chaffetz is too junior, too interested in the spotlight and, most important, too much like Issa.

Even Boehner has signaled to colleagues he would like to see change on the panel. Sources said Boehner believes the committee should focus on reforming government, not just hold high-profile hearings. Both Turner and Chaffetz are working that into their pitches to other members. Issa declined to comment on the candidates distancing themselves from him, and instead walked straight ahead with a grin on his face while questions were being hurled in his direction.

Chaffetz and Turner know the pitch to the steering committee is key, and each has spoken privately with members ahead of his presentation to the whole panel — which includes Boehner.

In an interview, Chaffetz laid out his four-part pitch. First, he has said, and will continue to emphasize, that he has been, “totally, completely focused on oversight.” Part 2: He has already been successful as a committee member.

Choosing Mike Turner could anger the right wing ahead of the speaker election. | AP Photo

“Everything from the Secret Service [scandal] to Benghazi to the IRS, Fast and Furious, I’ve been right in the heart of the major investigations of the committee,” Chaffetz said.

Chaffetz, who is finishing his third term in Congress, said he will tout his nearly constant presence on television — including the liberal MSNBC.

“We need somebody who can communicate beyond our base,” Chaffetz said. “I make myself very available to the media, and I think we need to continue to make our case about what’s really going on in this massive bureaucracy. And you have to have a strong media presence and be able to help mentor others to get out there and share that perspective.”

Perhaps most important, he’s putting significant distance between himself and Issa, with whom he has been close. He is planning to detail how he’ll work more closely with other committees — in contrast to a frequent criticism of Issa’s performance. And, he says, he’s never said anything dumb on television.

“There’s some adjustments and tweaks that need to happen,” Chaffetz said. “I am very grateful to Darrell Issa: I wouldn’t be in this position without him, but we gotta do some things differently, and any new chairman that comes in is going to put their new mark on it. There are a number of things I’m going to share with the Steering Committee to make adjustments and improve the committee.”

Asked to talk more about the changes he plans, Chaffetz said, “That’s the secret sauce. I can’t say that yet.”

When approached by POLITICO to talk about the race, Turner said, “No, no, no — thank you.”

But sources who have heard his pitch described it in detail. The chairman of the committee, Turner says, shouldn’t be the overwhelming face of the committee but should focus, instead, on oversight and fixing the problems in government that the committee finds — in contrast to how the committee has operated in recent years.

His seniority is also a major part of Turner’s pitch. He’s the third-ranking Republican on the panel and believes that he deserves the slot after more than a decade in Washington.

Jordan’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Boehner’s silence during previous committee races has caused at least one major surprise. In 2012, he shocked GOP leadership insiders when he supported Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas to be chairman of the Homeland Security Committee over Reps. Candice Miller of Michigan and Mike Rogers of Alabama.

This year, the Oversight chairmanship is the most competitive race for a committee gavel. Other high-profile incoming chairmen include Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, who will take over as the Ways and Means chairman, and Texas Rep. Mac Thornberry, who is slated to become the next Armed Services chairman. The Steering Committee will meet early next week to select new chairmen. The universe of voters is extraordinarily small: There will probably be fewer than 25 voting members. The House is expected to ratify the new slate of chairmen Wednesday.